7.5 oz. of crème fraîche can cost you about USD 6. Besides, up to 90% of the calories in this cream comes from fat and only 15 grams has a saturated fat content of nearly 4 grams. To add to this alarming factor, 15 mg of cholesterol is also present in the same amount of crème fraîche. Want viable crème fraîche substitutes now? You have then found yourself the correct page. Find out about crème fraîche substitutes from the following paragraphs.
Did You Know?
You can just use a cup of sour cream instead of crème fraîche. That alone will do the trick just as efficiently.
But there are better substitutes for this creamy delight. But before we go on to that, let’s look a little at what crème fraîche is all about.
“Crème fraîche: Heavy cream thickened and slightly soured with buttermilk and often served on fruit.” ~ Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Enounced “crem fresh” and literally translating to “fresh cream” from French, the US crème fraîche is concocted by fermenting pasteurized cream with sour cream or buttermilk. In France, however, the cream used is unpasteurized and produces a velvet-textured cream with a tarty and nutty flavor. A staple in French condiment recipes as the cream does not curdle when heated, it nonetheless is not easily available everywhere and can cost a little too much for regular buying. However, the lesser-fat variety of this does curdle on heating. So, in such a case, you must either know how to make crème fraîche at home or be able to substitute crème fraîche with other alternatives. So, what makes for suitable crème fraîche substitutes? Here are some for your reference and culinary exigencies.
Can you substitute sour cream for crème fraîche? Yes, you totally can! When it comes to crème fraîche vs. sour cream, the former is different from sour cream in two ways – its smooth texture and a higher heat stability.
- Quantity of Crème Fraîche Required: 1 cup
- To be Replaced with: ½ a cup of sweet whipping cream + ½ a cup of sour cream
- Procedure:
☛ Beat ½ a cup sweet whipping cream and an equal amount of sour cream together.
☛ After mixing the two, cover the mixture and set them aside to stand for 12 hours in a relatively warm place. - Keep in Mind: This mixture should be used only when you do not have to do anything related to heating, and are only planning to serve cream with some fruits, like strawberry or cherries.
- To be Replaced with: 1 cup of pasteurized whipping cream + 3 tablespoons of buttermilk
- Procedure:
☛ Heat about a cup of pasteurized whipping cream at a temperature of 85° F.
☛ Once the cream is lukewarm, remove it from the source of heat and pour 3 tablespoons of buttermilk into it.
☛ Mix it well, transfer the concoction into a glass bottle, cover it with wax paper with the help of a rubber band.
☛ Allow the concoction to stand unperturbed in a warm area for a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of 48.
☛ The duration depends on how soon this mixture starts to clot.
☛ After that, stir the thickened cream, cover with a proper lid, and then refrigerate for 4 days to reach a good, thick, and creamy consistency. - Keep in Mind: Make sure that you use this crème fraîche substitute within 10 days of making it.
- To be Replaced with: ½ a cup of any cream cheese substitute + ½ a teaspoon of lemon juice + 1½ a tablespoons of soy milk OR almond milk
- Procedure:
☛ Blend the cream cheese substitute with the two other ingredients for a satisfactory crème fraîche substitute. - Keep in Mind: This a great vegan crème fraîche sub. Also, if you are using this for a dessert recipe, just add a sweetener of your choice and voila!
- To be Replaced with: 2 tablespoons of sour cream OR buttermilk + 2 cups of heavy cream
- Procedure:
☛ Mix 2 tablespoons of either sour cream or buttermilk with 2 cups of heavy cream.
☛ Store the mixture in a lidded glass container and let it stand unperturbed for at least 10 hours at room temperature.
☛ This should be followed with 4 hours of refrigeration and your crème fraîche alternative will be ready. - Keep in Mind: Just take care to use pasteurized cream instead of the ultra-pasteurized variety.
- Quantity of Crème Fraîche Required: 1 cup
- To be Replaced with: 1 cup of mascarpone cheese
- Keep in Mind: This soft mild Italian cream cheese is a good crème fraîche substitute for baking.
- Quantity of Crème Fraîche Required: 1 tablespoon
- To be Replaced with: 1 tablespoon of Mexican crema (Mexican sour cream)
- Keep in Mind: Popularly called crema Mexicana, this buttery and rich substitute is great for dressings, sauces, soups, and as a topping cream. This resembles crème fraîche a great deal. Refrain from using it in desserts though.
- Quantity of Crème Fraîche Required: 1 cup
- To be Replaced with: 1 cup of crema Mexicana agria
- Keep in Mind: Perfect for savory dishes (dressings, sauces, and soups), this variety is more acidic and thicker than crema Mexicana. It is slightly salty in taste and has about 15 – 20% of fat content. Not to be used in desserts.
This option is a grand topping alternative for crème fraîche. Use it to top corn, traditional Salvadoran pupusas, and sweet plantain.
- Quantity of Crème Fraîche Required: 1 tablespoon
- To be Replaced with: 1 tablespoon of crema Salvadoreña
- Keep in Mind: This fill-in does not curdle on being heated and, therefore, can be used while making pasta, chowder, and macaroni and cheese. It is tangy, thick, and creamy like sour cream.
- Quantity of Crème Fraîche Required: 1 cup
- To be Replaced with: 1 cup of crema Centroamericana
- Keep in Mind: This crema is thicker and sweeter than Mexican crema.
- Quantity of Crème Fraîche Required: 1 tablespoon
- To be Replaced with: 1 tablespoon of clabbered crème
- Keep in Mind: Made from unpasteurized milk, clabbered crème is called quark in Germany and can be eaten with fruit or be used as a pasta filling. It can also be consumed by mixing black pepper, brown sugar, cinnamon, molasses, or nutmeg with it.
- Quantity of Crème Fraîche Required: 1 cup
- To be Replaced with: 1 cup of full-fat coconut cream
- Keep in Mind: It has a distinctly different flavor but is a marvelous topping cream nevertheless.
- Quantity of Crème Fraîche Required: 3 tablespoons
- To be Replaced with: 3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt
- Keep in Mind: Creamy, tangy, and relatively less sweet than normal yogurt, this is a brilliant low-fat substitute for crème fraîche.
Made from 28% milk fat, crème fraîche can very much be given a miss. However, crème fraîche does have a few good bacteria in it and it sure does not clabber when heated. And let’s face it, there is nothing more delectable than a topping of crème fraîche over cobblers, be it a dried cherry and currant cobbler with ginger biscuit or a peach blackberry cobbler or a skillet peach cobbler. Now, for these once-in-a-while desserts, one can indulge in some crème fraîche. In order to battle the price and the health concerns, there are ways to make some of this velvety, white cream at home. However, for this particular method, you will need to get your hands on some crème fraîche available in the market. Maybe some leftover in the last jar you bought – just enough to make a culture. Now, here’s how you employ that to make a fresh batch of crème fraîche.
Homemade Crème Fraîche from a Lactic Culture
⇒ Take 500 – 600 ml of cream, preferably raw, and place all of it in a clean, dry glass jar.
⇒ To this, add one tablespoon of plain yogurt and the leftover crème fraîche.
⇒ Now, cap the jar and shake it real hard. The ingredients inside should get mixed well.
⇒ Next, wrap it in a cloth and place it in a warm place (75.2 – 86° F) where it will be allowed to stand undisturbed for 24 – 72 hours.
Of course you need to keep checking regularly after the first 24 hours to see whether the concoction has thickened all over. You can actually use this particular batch to reproduce two more generations of crème fraîche.
These crème fraîche substitutes are tried and tested and have worked well for everybody.
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